Tag: devotional

Open Up Your Mouth and Speak

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

speak-up

One thing I have come to learn just recently is not only the power of the tongue, as I spoke about previously but also the power that comes behind declaring your prayers out loud.  Please do not misunderstand what I am about to say.  God knows our every thought, and I truly believe that He hears our prayers that are both silent and verbal.  I prayed silently for many, many years.  In fact that was all I knew growing up.  But as I learned more and grew spiritually I began to understand and experience first hand the power that comes when you open up your mouth and speak.  Praying vocally is so important.  It will take your spiritual walk and journey to a whole new level.  When you do, you are releasing your words into the atmosphere.  Doing so is a wonderful tool to overcome the wiles of the enemy.  The main way the enemy will try to attack is through our mind and if we can’t get our mind right, how can we focus on God while praying silently in our head?  You can’t because your mind will go in so many different directions.  If you are praying out loud, you are more inclined to focus on what you are saying and not other distractions around you.

 

When we pray we have to tell God how we feel.  We have to be open and honest with Him.  You can do this by having a normal conversation with Him like you would anyone else.  Also when you pray use your bible.  God says that we are to put Him in remembrance of His word.  Read scripture out loud.  Decree and declare them over yourself.  I know a lot of times when I read scripture I put my name in there.  I make it personal.  You can too.  Using books is also a great way to pray out loud.  When you have prayer books, they are already sectioned off in different topics and formatted, so all you have to do is read it.  Does it make it less effective because you did not write it?  Absolutely not.  The way I look at it is it’s no different from asking someone else to pray for you.  The bible says the prayers of the righteous availeth much, so don’t focus so much on who wrote it.  Focus more on getting that prayer through and making your request known.

 

When talking about the power of our tongue, one other thing that God placed on my heart to mention is that people are going to always have something to say. Always.  No matter where you are.  No matter how good or bad you are doing.  They will always have something to say.  A lot of the stuff they say, you may never even know about.  Some of it may not be so nice.  What I want you to do however is not receive anything negative and cancel it.  When they speak negative things over you, you cancel that negative with a positive. If they say you don’t have a purpose in life, you say not only DO you have purpose but you WILL fulfill that purpose.  Again I will say, do not receive any negative spoken words over you.  When I pray, not only do I cancel every negative word spoken over me, but I send it back to the sender 100 fold.  So everything bad they tried to put on me comes right back to them 100 times over.  Again, this is me using the power that God has given me.  So remember to pray, seek the face of God and when you do use your weapon.  Use the power that God has given you by opening up your mouth.  #iDeclare #openupyourmouth

speak-life

Prayer:

Father God in the name of Jesus.  Thank you for the power you have given us in our voice.  Help me Lord to use this power effectively.  I decree and declare that I will open up my mouth and talk to you on a daily basis, releasing my prayers into the atmosphere.    I will be mindful of what I say because I know that my words have power.  I cancel every negative word spoken over me right now in the name of Jesus and I send it back to the sender in Jesus name.  Thank you God for loving me just as I am.  I consider it a privilege and honor to come before your throne boldly day by day.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 54:17 KJV “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”

Psalms 3:4 ESV “I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah”

 

If He Did it Before, He CAN do it again!

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

Some of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs simply says, ‘If He did it before He can do it again.’  Who is He you might ask, God of course.  Our heavenly Father is the same today, yesterday and forever more but it seems like so many people seem to forget that.  I have seen God bless and deliver so many people out of crazy situations, and then those same people turn around and end up in another situation yet they act as if they have forgotten all about their previous victory.  We, myself included, cannot be this way.  There are so many lessons we encounter while dealing with every day life situations, and one of them should be to learn from our experiences.  If you are having problems making your mortgage note one month, then out of nowhere you get a check in the mail, you know that’s nobody but God.  So if you turn around and start having problems on your job, you have to know that God is going to work that out for you also, if for no other reason just based on your previous experience.

I write today with a friendly reminder to let you know that if God did it before, He can do it again.  He is the same God right now that He was back then and what God promises He delivers.  Here’s the deal though, you can have, actually you must have complete confidence in who God is and that He will keep His promises.  Your victory may not be the next day or when you think it is convenient for you, but I encourage you to remain patient and keep the faith because it is coming.  No matter how impossible it may seem, or crazy everything may look, you have to take God at His word.  He promised in Deuteronomy 31:18 that He would never leave you nor forsake you.   Be encouraged my sisters and brothers in Christ.  When you go through a storm, remind yourself that this is not the first one you have been through and it probably won’t be the last.  You did not come this far just to be defeated so keep your head up.  God got you!

I challenge each and every one of you, whether you are going through something at the present moment or not, think back to a situation that seemed absolutely impossible for you to overcome.  One that you didn’t have a clue how you were going to make it out of, or if you were ever going to make it out BUT you did.  The same way that God bought you out then, He can do the same again and again and again.  He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  He is the same God right now that He was back then.   #iDeclare #ifHediditbeforeHecandoitagain

 Deuteronomy_31_6

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I come to you as humbly as I know how thanking you first and foremost for who you are and what you are doing in my life.  You are such an awesome God. I repent for not standing on your word the way I should at all times.  I thank you for your deliverance in all situations and I decree and declare on this day that I will walk in a spirit of peace at all times no matter what is going on around me.  I trust You Lord and I take you at your word.  Thank you for never leaving me nor forsaking me.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

 

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 31:18 NLT ”Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Revelation 22:13 NIV “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Think BIG!!!

Author, Nicole L. Ross1 Comment

discovertext

I wanted to do a follow up with yesterday’s post about taking the limits off God and what He can do in your life.  One revelation that God gave me a few weeks back is that not only should we take off any limits we have placed on Him, but He cannot do a great thing in a little mind.  This really got me to thinking and I will pose this question to you as well.  Is your mind vast enough to encompass greatness or are you so simple minded that you can’t imagine anything beyond what you can see in the present moment?  I know that I have great faith in God, which gives me the ability to see beyond my present situation but I can honestly say that I am working every day on expanding my thought process to see the greatness ahead.  It can be tough when there is so much hurt, rejection, and disappointment around you.  What I am trying to do is set all of that to the side.  I know that these things have all been put there to push me towards that greatness I asked about, it’s just a matter of me staying focused and not allowing those rough patches to get me off track.

What I have learned is that it is so important to understand that so many things in our lives are birthed in our minds.  It develops as a thought, and then its up to you to act on it. What the devil will do is try to counterattack those thoughts and cause you to doubt.  He knows there is greatness in you and he wants to do everything he can to prevent them from coming to fruition.  If he can shut you down by using someone to say something negative to you and bring hurt and disappointment, then that is what he will do.  Often times, he will even use people who are close to you to do it.  Another thing to understand if this happens is that they may not even realize they are being used.  The bible tells us that the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy and you better believe that he will do it any way he can.  This is where you have to use that power and authority that God has already given you.  Do not let the enemy shut you down, you shut him down.  We destroy him by doing just what 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.  The devil is defeated, we just have to remind him.

When you get that small inkling in your mind to do something that you know can only come from God, you must act on it.  Obedience is not only better than sacrifice, obedience is where you get your blessings.  Operating in a spirit of obedience will take you so far because it will allow the gifts that you are operating in to make room for you.  As a servant of the Lord, I want to operate in greatness, not for myself, but so that the Kingdom of God can truly get glory out of my life.  My prayer is that your desire will be the same.  We are human and will most certainly make mistakes, but let’s not allow our mistakes to prevent us from operating in greatness for our life.  I end with these two questions, what’s on your mind?  More importantly, what are you doing about it? #iDeclare #thinkBIG

big_thinking

Prayer:

Father God, in the name of Jesus I come humbly before your throne thanking you for who you are in my life.  I come asking Lord that you would help me to think big.  Help me to understand the many things that are birthed in my mind and how to use them for your glory.  I decree and declare that when a thought is placed in my mind, I will act upon it and be obedient to the calling you have placed inside of me.  I will operate in greatness.  Thank you Jesus for hearing my prayer.  I love you, honor you and praise you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Scripture Reference:

Proverbs 18:16 KJV “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”

1 Samuel 15:22 NLT “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”